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Balmacewen Intermediate, Wakari (Dunedin)

Intermediate · Years 7–8 · Co-Educational · Wakari, Dunedin

A state intermediate school in Dunedin, New Zealand, serving students in Years 7 and 8.

Last checked 7 September 2026 · Roll data from August 2026

Jump to: About · Curriculum · Extracurricular

At a glance

TypeIntermediate · Years 7–8
LocationDunedin
RegionOtago Region
School number3711
475
Students
as at August 2026
425
Equity Index
Yes
Enrolment scheme
Open
School status

Key facts

  • School number3711
  • School typeIntermediate · Years 7–8
  • AuthorityState
  • GenderCo-Educational
  • BoardingNo
  • Language of instructionEnglish medium / other settings
  • Established26 January 1964
See NZ school holidays & term dates →

About Balmacewen Intermediate

Balmacewen Intermediate is a state intermediate school located in Dunedin, New Zealand, catering to students in the intermediate years. It is not a faith-based or Māori-medium school.

The school operates as a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) school, with Chromebooks recommended for student use. Classes are not streamed and are composed of students drawn from a range of contributing schools.

Balmacewen uses a learner framework called the Balmac Super Skills, which the school describes as its interpretation of the key competencies in the New Zealand Curriculum. The framework identifies attributes including critical and reflective thinking, collaborative and independent working, problem-solving, goal-setting, organisation, growth mindset, and building relationships. These attributes are intended to be taught explicitly across all learning areas.

The school is water-only, prohibiting fizzy drinks, energy drinks, lollies, and chewing gum on site. Students are required to hand in cell phones to their teacher at the start of each day.

Enrolment

Enrolment scheme on record

Balmacewen Intermediate has an enrolment scheme (a home zone) on record. Living inside it guarantees a place; living outside it does not, though out-of-zone applications may still be considered.

School donations

The Ministry of Education profile states that: "Donations may be requested".

With an Equity Index of 425, Balmacewen Intermediate is below the 432 threshold newly required to opt into the donations scheme, though a school already receiving this funding from an earlier year may continue to do so. Outside the scheme, a school can still ask families for donations, but cannot compel or enforce payment.

Check directly with the school for current charges, contributions or other costs. Learn more on the donations scheme or fees and charges at school, both on education.govt.nz.

Equity Index

The Ministry publishes this figure as a bare number — KuraData shows it against the directory-wide average, so you can see where Balmacewen Intermediate actually sits, not just the number on its own.

OFFICIAL DATA
425
Scale: 344–569
Band: Few (2026)
WHAT IT MEANS

The Equity Index estimates the socio-economic barriers students face, on average, and is used to inform government funding and support. It is not a measure of school quality or academic performance.

Higher values indicate a higher level of estimated socio-economic barriers; lower values indicate fewer. Learn how the Equity Index is calculated →

EQI scale (344–569)
Directory avg 448.8
Balmacewen Intermediate 425

Student ethnicity

The Ministry publishes this as a raw table — here it's visualised directly against Balmacewen Intermediate's own roll, so the shape of it is clear at a glance.

  • European — 396 students (83.4%)
  • Asian — 48 students (10.1%)
  • Pacific — 23 students (4.8%)
  • Māori — 62 students (13.1%)
  • MELAA — 18 students (3.8%)
  • Other — 12 students (2.5%)
  • International — 1 students (0.2%)

Percentages may sum to more than 100% because students can identify with more than one ethnic group.

Education pathway

Nearby schools serving the next or previous year levels are shown as potential pathway options. They do not indicate formal enrolment pathways or actual student transfers.

Current stage — Balmacewen Intermediate
Intermediate · Years 7–8
Potential next stage

Location

View larger map on OpenStreetMap
  • Street address44 Chapman Street
  • SuburbWakari
  • CityDunedin
  • Local authorityDunedin City

Official contact details

Nearby schools

Schools physically closest to Balmacewen Intermediate, regardless of year level.

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Browse Dunedin schools by type, including primary, intermediate, secondary, composite and other schools.

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Curriculum

Balmacewen Intermediate covers Year 7 and Year 8. The curriculum is organised around themed units that change each term. Year 7 and Year 8 run different themes simultaneously.

Named term themes include:

  • Ūkaipō (Year 7, Term 1)
  • Ka Mua Ka Muri (Year 8, Term 1)
  • The Human Machine (Year 8, Term 2)
  • Choose your path (Year 8, Term 2)
  • Discovery (Year 7, Term 3)
  • Impact (Year 8, Term 3)
  • pARTicipate (Year 7, Term 4)
  • Challenge (Year 8, Term 4)

All Year 7 students learn ukulele and marimba as part of the music curriculum. Individual instrument tuition is also available across a range of instruments including violin, cello, double bass, clarinet, flute, keyboard, piano, saxophone, recorder, kit drums, trumpet, trombone, and guitar.

Co-curricular Activities and Sports

Balmacewen Intermediate offers a range of named sports and co-curricular activities across competitive and social grades. Summer and winter sports teams compete in local weekly competitions; exchange fixtures are held against named schools.

  • Rugby (15s) — played through interschool exchange fixtures only (Terms 2 and 3), not weekly local competition; exchange opponents include John McGlashan and Southland Boys & Girls High School
  • Girls Rugby (10s) — 10-a-side competition run during Term 3; games kick off at 4pm; referees provided by Otago Rugby
  • Rugby 7s — boys and girls teams entered annually in the Otago Rugby Sassenachs 7s Tournament (Term 3)
  • Netball
  • Basketball
  • Soccer
  • Rippa Rugby
  • Hockey — 6-a-side competition on a half field, played Friday afternoons/evenings at McMillan turf and Kings High School turf; four named teams: Balmac Green (Mixed A), Balmac Blue (Boys), Balmac Red (Girls), Balmac Yellow (Mixed B); participation fee $85
  • Touch — Thursday competition; Balmacewen entered nine teams in the Metro Junior Module
  • Volleyball — Friday competition
  • Water Polo — Friday competition
  • Futsal — Wednesday competition
  • Ki-o-Rahi — Wednesday competition
  • Cricket — includes use of grass wickets and training nets at Bishopcourts; exchange fixture against Taieri College
  • Tennis — Monday competition; three artificial courts on site
  • Golf — includes the Dunedin Year 7 and 8 Golf Competition (Rolling Ambrose, 9 holes, teams of four, $5 per player) at Gladfield Golf Club, and the Kickstart Kiwi Golf Coaching Programme, a free five-week performance programme held at Balmacewen Golf Club for up to 10 selected students
  • Badminton
  • Table Tennis
  • Rugby League
  • Orienteering
  • Athletics — students attend local and regional athletics meetings; annual Athletics Day held on-site
  • Swimming — students attend local and regional swimming meetings; annual Swimming Sports held on-site
  • Cross Country — students attend local and regional cross country meetings; annual Cross Country held on-site
  • Kiwi Tag — students compete in the Otago League Kiwi Tag tournament at Bathgate Park

A weekly House Sport competition is also held, in which house groups compete for the Clarke Cup.

Frequently asked

These aren't generic answers — each one is built directly from Balmacewen Intermediate's own official Ministry of Education data already shown on this page, so what you read here always matches the figures above.

Balmacewen Intermediate is classified as a Intermediate school serving Years 7–8.

It's a state school in the Otago region. New Zealand domestic students are generally entitled to free enrolment and education at state schools.

Yes. It's a co-educational school, enrolling both boys and girls.

Yes. Balmacewen Intermediate has an enrolment scheme (a home zone) on record. Living inside it guarantees a place; living outside it does not, though out-of-zone applications may still be considered.

475 students, according to the August 2026 roll data.

It reflects the estimated socio-economic barriers Balmacewen Intermediate's students face, on average. The Ministry uses the Equity Index to help target funding and support. It is not a measure of school quality or academic performance.

Sources & methodology

Every fact on this page traces back to one of the rows below — official Ministry of Education data, or Balmacewen Intermediate's own published information, reviewed before publication. Nothing here is inferred or estimated beyond what its source actually states.

DataSourceData periodLast checked
School characteristics Ministry of Education — 7 September 2026
Student roll Ministry of Education / Education Counts August 2026 7 September 2026
Equity Index Education Counts — 7 September 2026
Address & coordinates Ministry of Education — 7 September 2026
Contact details NZ Schools Directory Current 7 September 2026
School information (AI-curated, human-reviewed) Balmacewen Intermediate's official website Current 17 September 2026